Archive for the ‘Rolls-Royce Phantom II’ tag

Aside from the Glenmoor Gathering, we can’t recall ever attending a world-class concours or car show that had a model car show as part of its program, but the recent Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance hosted a Florida-based group that presented a show for some very special replicas.

Model Motorcars Ltd., operated by Marvin Meit of Plantation, Florida, along with Jorge Ehrenwald of Mexico, drew a far-flung group of eye-popping entries for the Large Scale Model Car Concours d’Elegance. What makes this contest so different is that all entries had to be at least 1/12 scale or bigger. Some were based on the famed 1/8-scale Pocher kits produced in Italy from 1970 to 2000, but most are heavily scratch-built. Marvin’s group makes detail parts for Pocher kits, which he said went out of production following a factory fire. One of them is an exquisite carburetor for a 1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, handcrafted from 45 pieces.

The car above car is 100 percent scratch-built. It’s the J.C. Agajanian-owned Watson roadster that Parnelli Jones used to win the 1963 Indianapolis 500. The builder, North Carolina resident Richard Beggs, told us that he owns no machine tools, and made the castings and body shapes entirely by hand. As a measure of the entries’ quality, this stunner runner-upped in the contest.

In big scales, you don’t need a complete car to have a worthy entry. Daniel Curnutt of Edmonds, Washington, entered the 1933 Bugatti engine in the foreground, plus the 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II engine, crated as if for shipping.

Jeffery Schwartz of East Hills, New York, did a spectacular build on the Tamiya Big Scale Series replica of Jody Scheckter’s Ferrari 312T4. It’s in 1/12 scale.

This incredible replica won Best of Show. Louis Chenot of Carl Junction, Missouri, had previously been named Metalworking Craftsman of the Decade, in part for building this 1/6-scale 1932 Duesenberg SJ Phaeton. The entire driveline is functional.

Extensively scratch-built, particularly its body, this 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was built by George King of Weston, Florida.

Many of these models can be called sculptures more than simple shelf replicas. As an example, consider this 1967 Ferrari 312 built by Mark Maholm of Alliance, Ohio. It’s in 1/10 scale.

Here’s something that caught our eye at once. David Cox of Longwood, Florida, extensively modified Pocher’s famous 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II kit. In doing so, he spliced two of its engines together to create a straight-12. We like it.

Back in late January, we touched on the early announcement of the vehicular consolidation effort under way at the Central Texas Museum of Automotive History, founded by Dick Burdick in 1980, the sale of which was to be managed by Dan Kruse Classics this past weekend. That one-day auction did occur as scheduled by the Texas-based firm in the town of Smithville, and Dan Kruse Classics has just reported $4.83 million in sales (which includes a 10 percent buyer’s premium) with a 98 percent sell-through rate. Although a few private vehicles were offered, most of the 100 lots exhibited “no reserve” banners.

While a 1933 Duesenberg Model J “Queen of Diamonds” was bid up to $1.9 million and failed to land in the sold column, top sale of the event was bestowed upon the Cadillac pictured above, a 1930 Model 452 Fleetwood “Madame X” Rumbleseat coupe that went for $418,000. It was followed by a 1934 Duesenberg SJ Phaeton (in the style of Derham) that traded hands for $346,500. Rounding out the top 10 in sales: 1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Town Car by Brewster, $286,000; 1929 Cadillac Model 341B Sport Phaeton by Fisher, $151,250; 1905 Lorraine & De Dietrich et Cie Model VDC Sport, $143,000; 1930 Cadillac Model 353 Convertible Coupe by Fisher, $110,000; 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Touring, $106,700; 1967 Chevy Chevelle SS, $88,000; 1931 Packard Standard Eight Series 833 Coupe, $86,900; 1903 Stanley Steamer Model C Runabout, $85,250.

Not all of the lots were into the mid- or deep-five-figure range. A little more than half – 52 lots, to be exact – sold for less than $30,000, and eight of those sold for less than $10,000. Although we can’t vouch for its condition at the time of the sale, the deal of the day was a $2,310 hammer price for a 1942 Ford-built Jeep.